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RAcast wrote:I said TRU bumped prices, NOT Hasbro.

I didn't think I was suggesting anything different.

RAcast wrote:TRU bumped prices because they were selling out of MP Primes faster than they were getting in, if I know anything about basic Supply and Demand. They were initially sold at MSRP ($100) but subsequently went up to $110 - 120 and as high as (I think) $130?

That's precisely what I'm talking about - Hasbro and / or the retailers that serve as their distribution channels are absolutely wedded to a price point (e.g. one hundred dollars) that is significantly below the price at which collectors value the product. Now, I'm not suggesting that Hasbro et al. should be using this as an excuse to summarily increase prices without a corresponding increase in value; rather, that Hasbro seem to spend a lot of time cutting costs (e.g. material weight, paint applications) that collectors would be more than willing to pay for.

In essence, Hasbro et al. are attempting to position the price of MP-10 Optimus Prime somewhere in the hundred dollar region at a time when the only competing alternative, MP-10 Convoy, fetches a price almost one hundred and fifty dollars higher.

As a side note, I think I may have mentioned earlier that I was under the impression that the domestic release of the figure was priced at something like fifty dollars; I have no idea where that came from in retrospect, and should probably refrain from responding late at night.

RAcast wrote:It's all too common a mistake to blame every price hike on Hasbro's end. Retailers are just as likely to up prices if they see fit, and they can do so on a whim. Of course, pushing the MSRP to $15 on MUCH smaller figures probably didn't do much for anybody. It's certainly kept me away from Shockwave and FRumble, despite the fact that I REALLY like both molds; I just can't justify the price.

My complaint is actually the opposite; that Hasbro and their retail partners are so strongly attached to a traditional retail pricing model that they are essentially hobbling their own ability to court the collector market; and then, ironically, they point to their lack of success in this area as proof that the collector segment is not worth chasing in the first place.

Think of it like this: last year, god only knows how many fans put down between three hundred and fifty and six hundred dollars a piece to own a Masterpiece-scale Devastator analog. Toys'R'Us will never, ever consider carrying an 'action figure' of that value; ergo, and Hasbro will not consider selling such a figure via other means. Hence, as far as they are concerned, there is little to no point in pursuing production on such an item.

I bring HasbroToyShop.com up because, even if they are organizationally independent of Hasbro proper, they represent an online retail outlet that Hasbro effectively controls (as the site purveys only Hasbro-brand items). HasbroToyShop could be used as a logical next step in reaching out to the collector market independent of the stifling influence of the likes of Toys'R'Us; but this is a course of action that Hasbro currently chooses not to pursue.

What was this topic about anyway? it´s not a retoric question, I don´t want to look at the tittle because I think it´s hilarious how reading the last two pages made me forget all about it.

Janus Prime wrote:What was this topic about anyway? it´s not a retoric question, I don´t want to look at the tittle because I think it´s hilarious how reading the last two pages made me forget all about it.

It's about Hasbro's new line of constructible action figures, which are pretty obviously a "me too" on Bionicle and Hero Factory and whatnot.

That Bot wrote:

Janus Prime wrote:What was this topic about anyway? it´s not a retoric question, I don´t want to look at the tittle because I think it´s hilarious how reading the last two pages made me forget all about it.

It's about Hasbro's new line of constructible action figures, which are pretty obviously a "me too" on Bionicle and Hero Factory and whatnot.

Oh dude, the email totally ruined it!